Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. Grows Holdings in Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT)

Stratos Wealth Partners LTD. lifted its position in shares of Alliant Energy Co. (NASDAQ:LNT) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,643 shares of the company’s stock after buying an additional 285 shares during the quarter. Stratos Wealth Partners LTD.’s holdings in Alliant Energy were worth $238,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of LNT. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can raised its holdings in Alliant Energy by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 117,612 shares of the company’s stock valued at $7,714,000 after acquiring an additional 3,451 shares during the last quarter. Prudential PLC purchased a new stake in shares of Alliant Energy in the first quarter valued at $427,000. National Pension Service increased its stake in Alliant Energy by 11,488.8% in the first quarter. National Pension Service now owns 371,883 shares of the company’s stock valued at $23,235,000 after purchasing an additional 368,674 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Alliant Energy by 1.1% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,030,199 shares of the company’s stock worth $1,938,766,000 after buying an additional 342,340 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd boosted its stake in Alliant Energy by 67.2% in the 1st quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,988 shares of the company’s stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 799 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 79.90% of the company’s stock.

Alliant Energy Price Performance

Alliant Energy stock opened at $48.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $48.64 and a 200-day moving average of $49.46. Alliant Energy Co. has a 52-week low of $45.15 and a 52-week high of $56.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.27, a PEG ratio of 2.56 and a beta of 0.55.

Alliant Energy (NASDAQ:LNT) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 16th. The company reported $0.48 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.55 by ($0.07). Alliant Energy had a net margin of 17.46% and a return on equity of 10.85%. The company had revenue of $961.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.46 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Alliant Energy Co. will post 3.07 EPS for the current year.

Alliant Energy Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, May 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 30th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 4.00%. Alliant Energy’s payout ratio is currently 69.06%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently commented on LNT shares. Barclays reaffirmed an “equal weight” rating and set a $53.00 price objective (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Alliant Energy in a research note on Tuesday, January 2nd. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Alliant Energy from $55.00 to $54.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Alliant Energy from $51.00 to $53.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $53.31.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Lisa M. Barton acquired 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 20th. The stock was bought at an average price of $48.56 per share, with a total value of $53,416.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 36,444 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,769,720.64. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Alliant Energy Profile

Alliant Energy Corporation operates as a utility holding company that provides regulated electricity and natural gas services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Utility Electric Operations, Utility Gas Operations, and Utility Other. The company, through its subsidiary, Interstate Power and Light Company (IPL), primarily generates and distributes electricity, and distributes and transports natural gas to retail customers in Iowa; sells electricity to wholesale customers in Minnesota, Illinois, and Iowa; and generates and distributes steam in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.